“Exemplar Reasoning” as a Tool for Constructive Conversation between Confucians and Catholics

It is widely acknowledged that the dialogue between Confucians and Catholics in China was begun by Matteo Ricci (1552–1610).¹ Ricci arrived in Macao in August 1582, yet the Catholic engagement with Confucianism did not really get under way there until well over a decade later. In fact, prior to 1594, Ricci and his Jesuit colleagues engaged primarily with Buddhism rather than with Confucianism in their efforts to explain their Catholic faith to the Chinese they encountered. During this period they presented themselves—visually and intellectually—as Western Buddhist monks. Ricci had not initiated this practice, and he eventually came